Influencers on Social Media as References: Understanding the Importance of Parasocial Relationships

Abstract

Audiences’ purchase intentions are vital to the success of influencers on social media. This research examined how interpersonal attraction enhances parasocial relationships (PSRs) between influencers and audiences on social media, and how such parasocial relationships, in turn, affect audiences’ continuance intention. Interpersonal attraction contains three dimensions: task attraction, social attraction, and physical attraction. The results indicated that the three dimensions of interpersonal attraction significantly affected PSRs. The results also showed that informational influence and perceived credibility strengthened the relationship between PSRs and purchase intentions. Moreover, online comments positively moderated the effect of PSRs on informational influence and perceived credibility. The implications and suggestions for future research are also discussed.